SALT LAKE CITY — A Utah legislative committee unanimously approved a joint plan between Salt Lake City and the Smith Entertainment Group that would revitalize the downtown area.
On Tuesday, the legislature's Revitalization Zone Committee voted to move the plan forward, with the final step coming when the Salt Lake City Council votes on a proposed 0.5% sales tax increase to fund the project.
A date for the council to vote on the tax increase has not been announced, although it has until Dec. 31 to do so.
The vote came after weeks of discussions and negotiations.
"The idea originally was for this arena to go somewhere else, outside of Salt Lake City," claimed Sen. Dan McCay (R-Riverton). "This desire to keep it downtown was truly a legislative and municipal desire and was not the original desire of the developer, or owner of the team."
If given final approval, the plan would infuse $900 million into the project over the next 30 years, which will include a remodel of Delta Center along with 100 acres surrounding the arena.
The committee did add a recommendation with their approval that Abravanel Hall be preserved, a move that Salt Lake County Mayor Jenny Wilson is on-board with, but it will come with a $200 million price tag.
"What we do with Abravanel Hall will not be an inexpensive proposition," admitted Wilson. "We are now zeroing in on a plan that would renovate the hall, keep it in its current state, and additionally would meet the goals of activation and the assets and gathering place."
The plan is not without opponents who raised questions about the process ahead of the committee vote.
"Shouldn't we put both the tax proposal and allocation of property to public vote and ensure transparency and allow the community to have a direct say in how financial burdens and city resources are managed?" asked Allia DeAngelis during a public comment period.
Smith Entertainment Group has estimated that it will also invest at least $3 billion outside of public funding to transform the downtown area into more of an entertainment district.
